In this episode, I speak with Irish garden designer and tv personality - Diarmuid Gavin. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016 - He has also authored or co-authored at least ten gardening-related books.

For regular listeners, you will be familiar with a recent episode I did with 16-time Grammy award-winning producer, Rafa Sardina - well this episode is continuing on that trend. I am really keen to explore other disciplines to see how they work to solve complex problems and also approach their work. I see gardening and working with nature as a direct parallel to working within organisations. Thinking like this, I was excited to speak with Diarmuid to see how he explores designing for the future and chat at length about external factors that could hinder the designer's vision.

Diarmuid was a great guest - and wanted to give a big shout out to his wonderful Instagram page where he answers questions regularly through his Live events. So if you are interested and getting started with anything garden related - Diarmuids yer man!

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• Follow and connect with Diarmuid on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/diarmuidgavin
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In this special walking episode of This is HCD, Gerry visits Elmgrove Farm in County Meath, Ireland, to meet farmer, journalist, and innovator Darragh McCullough.

What started as a flower farm has evolved into a thriving community experience with pizza, peonies, and pick-your-own eggs. Together, they explore the deep thinking, sustainable practices, and collaborative mindset driving the farm’s remarkable transformation.

Learn how Darragh blends farming tradition with human-centred principles, and discover how change-makers in any industry can be inspired by the resilience, creativity, and adaptability found in modern Irish agriculture.

Learn more: https://elmgroveflowerfarm.ie/

🔑 Key Takeaways

• How to diversify without losing focus: a masterclass in iterative business building

• Why collaboration (not control) is essential for modern rural enterprises

• The power of customer experience in reshaping farming's role in local communities

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👉 Get started with my free 5-Day Email course for changemakers: https://www.changemakersroadmap.com/

OR Design Training: https://www.thisishcd.com/training

In this episode of This is HCD, Gerry Scullion speaks with Adam B. Cochrane, an experienced design leader currently at Staffbase in Berlin. Together, they explore the often-overlooked power of facilitation in design—and why it’s a crucial skill for any designer hoping to make a meaningful impact. From working at Lufthansa and Zalando to his current role, Adam shares lessons learned about enabling teams, the value of psychological safety, and how even introverts can become brilliant facilitators.

We explore:
🧠 Why facilitation can supercharge your design career
🎤 How introverts can become incredible facilitators
🛠️ The role of psychological safety in team success

Adam shares brilliant insights from his time at Lufthansa, Zalando, and now Staffbase – plus practical advice for anyone wanting to step up and lead better conversations at work.

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